Iran announces 43 new coronavirus deaths

Iran on Monday reported 43 new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall toll to 237 dead.

‘Our colleagues have confirmed 595 new cases across the country,’ Kianoush Jahanpour, the health ministry’s spokesman said in a televised conference.

‘This brings the overall number of confirmed cases to 7,161 as of today noon,’ he added.

Jahanpour said the rate of new infections was dropping ‘but it is still too early to judge’ when the outbreak could be brought under control.

‘Forty-three people have unfortunately been added to the number of those who have died of the disease, so to date we have 237 dead.’

The outbreak of the virus in Iran is one of the deadliest outside of China, where the disease originated.

With 1,945 cases, the capital Tehran remains the province with the most cases, according to the official.

The second worst-hit province with 712 confirmed cases is Qom, the Shia pilgrimage city south of Tehran where the Islamic republic’s first cases were reported.

More than 3,500 people have died worldwide so far from the epidemic which has infected 110,000 people in 99 countries and territories since it was first reported in China late last year.

New virus cases in China have declined in recent weeks in a sign the country’s unprecedented lockdown measures are working.

The improving situation stands in stark contrast with the growing global spread of the disease that has affected scores of countries and prompted some governments to impose their own draconian measures and quarantines.

China reported 40 new infections nationwide on Monday — the smallest increase since the country began reporting the data in January.

Nearly all the fresh cases and 22 new deaths were in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, which has been under lockdown for weeks.

The latest fatalities bring the country’s death toll to 3,119.

The number of US coronavirus cases soared past 500 Sunday, including two further deaths, as California braced for the arrival of infected cruise ship passengers and saw a major tennis event cancelled.

The surge came as president Donald Trump defended his administration’s ‘perfectly coordinated’ response to the epidemic, after heavy criticism over health cuts and strategic blunders that have failed to stem its rapid spread.

Some 30 US states have been hit by the novel coronavirus, with Oregon the latest to declare an emergency, and 60 million people in California and New York are under crisis measures.

Two more deaths linked to a virus-hit care home near Seattle were reported Sunday, bringing the nationwide toll to at least 21.

A Johns Hopkins tally put the number of confirmed US cases at 554 by Sunday evening, with newly diagnosed patients in states including Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey.

Medical officers headed for a virus-hit cruise ship stranded off San Francisco to begin screening passengers for an ‘unprecedented and difficult’ landing operation.

The Grand Princess, with 21 confirmed coronavirus infections among 3,500 people on board, is due to dock in nearby Oakland Monday.

India has banned all foreign cruise ships from its ports because of the coronavirus, with one European vessel turned away from Mangalore in the south at the weekend, officials said.

Cruise ships are seen as fertile breeding ground for the deadly virus, with more than 700 cases and six linked deaths from the Diamond Princess held off Japan last month.

India, the world’s second most populous country after China, has reported 43 cases, prompting the government to issue daily health warnings.

Several embassies in North Korea closed as many diplomats were flown out following weeks of tight quarantine restrictions imposed by Pyongyang over the spread of the novel coronavirus.

North Korea has not confirmed a single infection but has imposed strict rules, including closing its borders and putting thousands of its own people into isolation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned last month of ‘serious consequences’ if the virus reaches his country, which has banned tourists and suspended international trains and flights.

Singapore will allow a cruise ship carrying about 2,000 people to dock after it was barred by Malaysia and Thailand over coronavirus fears, officials said Monday.

The Costa Fortuna was turned away from the Thai holiday island of Phuket and the Malaysian state of Penang in recent days, despite having no suspected virus cases among its passengers and crew.

The Irish government will cancel this year’s St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin because of the coronavirus outbreak, state broadcaster RTE reported, citing a decision made by a cabinet sub-committee.

Ireland currently has 21 cases of COVID-19, and the country’s second city, Cork, has already cancelled its festivities.

The number of coronavirus cases in Germany has passed 1,000, official data from the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre showed.

There are now a total of 1,112 confirmed cases in Europe’s biggest economy, with the region of North Rhine-Westphalia reporting 484 infections — the highest number among Germany’s 16 states.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net